Padnamanor (pad-NAH-mah-nor)

The dominant race of the world of Nipholiles. They reside in cities atop the towering Cudamurdeb trees and (historically) the mountaintops, safe from the corrosive Niphur mist that coats the surface below.

Empathic Tangibility

The way the Padnamanor experiences sensation through emotion is complex. Negative emotions such as fear, sadness, and disgust tend to produce painful sensations whereas neutral to positive emotions like joy, focus, and arousal produce pleasant sensations. Indeed, this mechanism is theorized to have evolved from a system of sexual arousal in which thoughts and emotions are directly tied to bodily chemicals that regulate pleasure.
The immediacy of emotions corresponds to the severity and generality of pain as well. A long, deep set grief may be sensed as a dull ache throughout the years but a sudden bout of anger or sadness can trigger sharp cramps and stinging pain. Likewise, sustained joy results in a continual feeling of satisfaction whereas immediate gratification and relief are perceived as a brief spike of pleasure. In addition to their own feelings, Padnamanor “pick up” on the feelings of others when they are present and they are made cumulative with their own. This “sharing” of emotions balances spikes and dips and keeps a community of Padnamanor emotionally stable and more often than not in a state of continual contentment.

Feedback Loops

Extreme trends in a community are possible with feedback looping. When emotions tend toward positive feedback, it is called a Bacchanal Effect, named for the professor who first formally studied the phenomenon. When they tend toward negative feedback, it is called an Atrophic Effect. This phenomenon becomes rarer the larger a community is and fizzles out to near zero past the “distribution point” which is the number of Padnamanor needed in a community for at least 1 person to be emotionally separated from another. In groups of twenty to thirty Padnamanor, emotional feedback is not uncommon. Indeed, in the early history of the Padnamanor, when communities tended to be in this size range, destruction of a tribe by emotional feedback was a known danger.

Society and Culture

The common religion worshipped throughout Nipholiles is called Cupres Anamorbis (roughy translating to “Striving for Balance”) and stems from the Padnamanor’s natural observations of the mist and the trees.
(?? other commonalities ??)
There are several distinct cultures of Padnamanor, each occupying different regions of Nipholiles. Because even small groups tend to adapt to one another quickly, the emergence of separate subcultures is quick and leads to rapid diversity.

Merus Phliones

Paphedasbes

Chopiridadis

Debisp Yilphonimes

(?? Mountain men ??)

People without Pain

Padnamanor have caprine facial features though with a more catlike, flattened snout and nose. A single, spiraling horn rises from the head and long ears fall beside or behind the head. Their bodies are humanoid though have backward-bending limbs like those of birds’ legs.
All padnamanor are born with an innate ability for telekinesis and those who excel at the practice may forgo use of their limbs entirely. Padnamanor curiously do not feel physical pain but rather register their emotions and the emotions of others as direct sensations.